Am Jour of Phytomed & Clinical Therapeut

Objective: To evaluate the anti tumor activity of Coscinium fenestratum extract under in vitro and in vivo conditions.

Materials and Methods: The cytotoxic activity of C. fenestratum extract was tested on HeLa cells by MTT assay. The apoptosis-inducing activity of the extract was measured via mitochondtial membrane potential assay, acridine orange and ethidium bromide dual staining method, DNA fragmentation assay and caspase assay.  The in vivo antitumor activity of the extract was tested against developed solid tumor in mammalian system.

Results: The extract showed significant anti-proliferative activity and is dose dependent.  The extract treatment clearly showed an increasing number of apoptotic events both in HeLa cells and DLA cells and collapsed the mitochondrial membrane potential and these effects were higher than that of the positive control taxol. The cellular DNA was cleaved in to multiple fragments.  Membrane blebbing and nuclear fragmentation was also observed after the extract treatment. C. fenestratum also triggered the release of mitochondrial cytochrome -c and activation of caspases 3 and 9 in HeLa cells, indicative of its apoptotic potential and was found to be highly effective in tumor regression.

Conclusions: These finding suggested that the potential antitumor activity of C. fenestratum extract.

Abstract

Primula denticulata belonging to family Primulaceae and Capparis zeylanica to Capparidaceae. P. denticulata is commonly known as drumstick primula and grow in shady places and open slopes.Similarly, C. zeylanica is commonly known as Indian caper, a climbing shrub. The literature survey revealed that there is no experimental evidence of antidiabetic and wound healing effect of the plants. The present investigation was planned to evaluate the hypoglycaemic and wound healing properties in plants extract. In the hypoglycaemic activity, the animals were examined up to 21 days, in which Streptozotocin (STZ) was used as diabetes inducer and Glipizide as a standard. For wound healing activity, excision-wound model was used and 1% Silver Sulphadiazine ointment was used as standard. The dose 200 mg/kg body weight was selected from both ethanolic (EtOH) and aqueous extract for hypoglycaemic activity. For hypoglycaemic activity, the result of aqueous extract of C. zeylanica (200.3±3.24**) and EtOH extract of P. denticulata (203.8±2.30**) have shown a good reduction in blood glucose level and compared with normal control. 5% ointment formulation of  EtOH extract of C. zeylanica and P. denticulata have been shown 98.36% and 93.08% wound healing contraction at day18 respectively when compared with normal control. Finally the results concluded that, both the plant extract have probable source of hypoglycaemic and wound healing property from natural origin.

Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease caused by chronic bacterial infection of the gum and bone supporting the teeth. Antimicrobial and Anti-inflammatory agents are used to treat periodontal diseases. Due to their short half life, these medications have to be taken frequently to maintain the desired therapeutic effect. Extensive efforts have recently been focused on targeting the drugs to a particular region of the body for extended period of time, thus maximizing drug availability and minimizing dose dependent side effects.
This article reviews preparation of microspheres, gels and bioadhesive gel incorporated with drug loaded microspheres and parameters to evaluate their efficiency.

Background: Since the identification of Ebola Virus (EBOV) in 1976, significant filovirus research has focused on developing antiviral therapies. However, despite promising vaccine candidates, no licensed prophylactics currently exist for preventing or treating filovirus infections.

Pathogenesis: The Ebola genome encodes only seven genes, which mediate the entry, replication, and egress of the virus from the host cell. Bats have been identified as a reservoir for Ebola viruses but it remains unclear if transmission to an end host involves intermediate hosts.

Diagnosis: Diagnosis within a few days after symptoms begin involves antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing, IgM ELISA, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Virus isolation.

Clinical pictures: Initial signs and symptoms are nonspecific and may include fever, chills, myalgias, and malaise. Sufferers experience nausea, vomiting, internal bleeding and organ failure before they die.

Treatment: There are no approved treatments or vaccines available for Ebola virus disease (EVD) until today; however, there are a bunch of therapeutic approaches on the track which could have the real impact on control and prevention of this global threat. Among these, the one announced by the WHO opens some ones eyebrow and gives the real glimmer of hope to tackle EVD. The two “front running” vaccines on the track are cAd3-ZEBOV, a chimpanzee derived adenovirus vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline in conjunction with the US National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, and rVSV-ZEBOV, developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada and now licensed to a US company called New Link.
Conclusions: Many promising vaccines are moving through pre-clinical or clinical trials, but mass immunization is unlikely due to the localized and sporadic nature of EBOV infections. Post-exposure interventions are therefore necessary for the treatment of cases as they occur.

The present investigation was conducted to find out the effect of varying levels of fly ash and growth hormones on the determination of chlorophylls. The experiments were conducted in pots with Green gram leaves grown with different levels of fly ash concentration, and soil was used (various combinations). The soil of newly formed Chhattisgarh state has been found to be acidic and as a result, it causes aluminium toxicity reduced micro-organism activity Mn and Fe toxicity, Ca, Mg, Mo, N, P and S deficiency. Collectively all these factors reduce chlorophyll contents of plants previous workers have used liming to get rid of aluminium toxicity. In the present work fly ash and plant hormones have been used in the pot experiments in green gram plant to study their effect in chlorophyll contents.

Objective: To screen the antidiabetic and antioxidant activity of Rhynchosia beddomei whole plant by oral glucose tolerance test, streptozotocin (STZ)-induced and dexamethasone induced diabetic rats using oral administration of methanolic extract (MERB) and ethyl acetate extract (EARB).

Methods: In oral glucose tolerance test, both MERB and EARB markedly reduced the external glucose load. The extracts were given orally at doses 150 mg/kg b.w. and 300 mg/kg b.w. and were observed after 21 days in STZ induced diabetes and 11 days in dexamethasone induced diabetes. In vitro models using a-amylase and a-glucosidase inhibitory assay were also evaluated. In vitro antioxidant study of the methanolic extract (MERB) and ethyl acetate extract (EARB) was done by DPPH assay and NBT inhibition assay respectively.

Results: From the preliminary phytochemical investigation Rhynchosia beddomei whole plant showed the presence of flavonoids, phenolics and steroids. The antioxidant effect of plants are often attributed to the presence of phytochemical constituents mainly phenolics, flavonoids and flavonols. MERB at 300 mg/kg b.w. was found to have significant antioxidant and antidiabetic activity.

Conclusion: This study clearly shows that the extracts of Rhynchosia beddomei possess effective antioxidant and antidiabetic activity.

Objective: Nitric oxide (NO) is considered as an important signal molecule in plant system. In the present study, the effect of some elicitors namely, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), sodium nitrite (NN) and potassium ferricyanide (FCN) on reactive oxygen species localisation and the antioxidant activity of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. was studied during germination.

Method: The antioxidant activity and reactive oxygen species localisation were evaluated up to 3 days at an interval of 24h. The in vitro antioxidant property was determined by the following spectrophotometric methods: scavenging of DPPH and ABTS+ radicals, ferric reducing power and metal chelating property; also phytochemicals like phenol and flavonol contents were determined.

Results: The results demonstrated that the donors of nitric oxide treated seeds showed increase in their antioxidant activity from 24h to 48h and then after declined at stage of 3 days. Overall, the seeds treated with potassium ferricyanide and sodium nitroprusside exhibited higher antioxidant property when compared with that of control. It was evident from the study of histochemical localization of H2O2, lipid peroxidation and plasma membrane integrity that sodium nitroprusside and potassium ferricyanide exhibited protective role in the germinating seedlings of fenugreek.

The aim of the study is extracted and purity flavonoids from Cyperus rotundus rhizomes. Ethanolic extract obtained by removing the oily material from it by using soxhlet methods with of petroleum ether solvent and then wash with ethanol solvent in concentration 70%, the extract which confirms the presence of polyphenol and flavonoids. Purified flavonoids was obtained by gel filtration column (Sephadex LH-20).The ethanolic extract and purified flavonoids were examined by spectral diagnostic using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) which showed the presence of flavonoids compound. The ethanolic extract and flavonoids were first subjected to phytochemical analysis followed by evaluation of their antioxidant potential by measuring the total phenolic content. The free radical scavenging activity of Rhizomes from Cyperus rotundus evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay the results revealed that activities of (BHT) synthetic antioxidant and vitamin C as free radical scavenging increased when is compared with flavonoid purified and ethanolic extract rhizomes, the free radical scavenging activity of flavonoid purified is less than synthetic antioxidant and  flavonoid purified is highest free radical scavenging to ethanolic extract C. rotundus. Total phenolic of Cyperus rotundus sample ethanolic extract 10 and 25 mg/ml were 1.1758 and 2.0969mg/ml, respectively, and pure flavonoid 10mg/ml and 25mg/ml were 1.0159 and 1.1861mg/ml respectively. These results established the antioxidative potency of C. rotundus Rhizomes, which may account for some of the medical claims attributed to this plant.

Centaurea chamaerhaponticum Ball. (Asteraceae), Lawsonia inermis L. (Lythraceae), Origanum compactum Benth. (Lamiaceae), Punica granatum L. (Punicaceae) and Ceratonia siliqua L. (Sapindaceae) are medicinal plants recommended in Moroccan folk medicine for the treatment of gastric ulcers.

The protective effects of the studied plants against gastric damage were investigated using three experimental models in rats (HCl/ethanol, pylorus ligation, and aspirin-induced ulcer). Each plant extract (250 or 500 mg/kg) was orally administered once prior to ulcer induction. The antiulcer activity was assessed by comparing the ulcer index and gastric parameters in the test group with those of the control group. As a result, all five plant extracts showed, at the high dose, a significant gastro-protective effect. O. compactum showed the highest ulcer protective in NSAID-induced ulcer model (86.1 % of protection), greater than that of omeprazole (79.7 %) and almost similar to that of cimetidine (84.8%). The volume of gastric secretion was decreased significantly by C. chamaerhaponticum (50% of gastric secretion reduction), C. siliqua (46.4%) and L. inermis (42.8%) similarly to omeprazole’s antisecretory effect (50% of secretion reduction). A significant decrease in the total acidity was noticed only at the highest dose for all tested plants (percent of total acidity reduction ranged from 22.2 to 30.5 %), except for C. chamaerhaponticum which showed no significant modifications in both total acidity and gastric pH. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that the selected plants possess potent gastroprotective and antisecretory properties, which justify the ethno-medicinal claims.

This study is initialized to assess the enzymatic activity link to the presence or absence of spermatozoa.

In fact, thirty nine ejaculates from men aged 31 to 42 years were collected. 17 normospermia and 22 azoospermia were found. Seminal fluid was obtained by centrifugation of the samples and freeze at 4˚C.

Those tests revealed there is no significant difference in term of the age, the bit with the enzyme markers; the statistical analysis show significant variations in certain parameters. Thus, for the Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), we notice a difference between normospermia with the values of 224.17 ±17.30 UI/l and azoospermia with the values of 143.13 ± 13.69 UI/l. These remarks were made for the γ-Glutamyl Transferase (GGT) with 16938 ± 1795 UI/l corresponding to the normospermia which are different from the azoospermia with the following values of 11357± 1326 UI/l.
The consideration of these parameters could be envisaged after an assessment on a broad sampling in order to confirm the effectiveness of the presence of the spermatozoa according to the activity of these enzyme markers.

Lamotrigine is an anticonvulsant drug used in the treatment
of epilepsy and bipolar disorder A simple, sensitive, accurate and reproducible UV/visible spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of Lamotrigine in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage forms. The solvent used was distilled water and wavelength corresponding to maximum absorbance for the drug was found at 304nm. Drug obeyed beer’s law in the concentration range of 20 – 100µg/ml. with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992. The linear regression equation obtained was y=0.0073x+0.0081, where y is the absorbance
and x is the concentration of the pure drug solution. The method was validated for several parameters such as Linearity, Accuracy, Precision and Robustness as per the ICH guidelines. The % recovery value which is close to 100% indicates reproducibility of the method and absence of interference of the excepients present in the formulation. The authors conclude that the proposed spectrophotometric method for the estimation of Lamotrigine can be used for routine analysis of Lamotrigine in bulk as well as in tablet dosage form.

Background:  Western Assam are located at the extreme western part of Assam it extends from 89049/20// E to 91048/16// longitude and 25027/ N to 260 54// latitude covering the lower Brahmaputra valley.  Western Assam is very unique in its bio resources and is inhibited by different Tribes and Communities. The people of this region use various plant items including leaves and tender shoot, flowers of some species which are often seen to be consumed in different forms like fried, curry form or even eaten raw. Besides using edible items these flowers are also used sometimes as a medicine for curing various diseases. Some of these flowers are also seen to be sold in local markets of various parts of Western Assam including Guwahati city for their high demand. Most of these flowers also eaten all over North East India by different tribes.
Objectives: The objective of the present study is to document the plant species used by various communities of Western Assam as an edible flower. This work is very significant because documenting the indigenous knowledge through ethno-botanical studies are necessary for conservation of biological resources as well as their sustainable utilization.
Method: In the study data was collected by field visit in various remote villages and by visiting the local markets of Western Assam. The present research work was conducted during the year on January 2012- June 2014. The present study provides information on their scientific name, family, vernacular name, habit, biological status, time of flowering, mode of preparation, medicinal properties and as well as market value.
Result and conclusion: A total of 35 species of 31 genera belonging to 23 families of edible flowers have been recorded from the study area. There is enormous potential for the use of such edible flowers which bear specific medicinal properties for which there is tremendous demand even in global level.

Water chestnut (Trapa natans L. var. bispinosa Roxburgh), is an
aquatic weed well known for its starchy fruit. The objective of this
study  is  to  investigate  the  fruits  of  this  plant  for  its  medicinal
property, viz, activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and a non
pathogenic  species  Mycobacterium  smegmatis  and  antioxidant
activity.  Methanolic  and  ethanolic  extracts  of  the  peel  and  fruit
showed antimycobacterial activity. The ethanolic extract of the peel
exhibited the highest antimycobacterial activity with significant MIC
values of 12.65 mg/ml and 3.125 mg/ml against M. tuberculosis and
M.  smegmatis respectively.  Total  polyphenol  (TPC)  and  flavonoid
contents (TFA) were measured. The ethanolic extract of the peel has
been found to contain the highest phenolic and flavonoid contents.
The fruit exhibited a total protein content of 6.825 g/100 g. Seven
compounds  (Phenols  and  Fatty  acid)  are  detected  in  the  GC-MS
study of the ethanolic extract.

Lamotrigine is an anticonvulsant drug used in the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder A simple, sensitive, accurate and reproducible UV/visible spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of  Lamotrigine in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage forms.  The solvent used was distilled water and wavelength corresponding to maximum absorbance for the drug was found at 304 nm. Drug obeyed beer’s law in the concentration range of 20 – 100 µg/ml. with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992. The linear regression equation obtained was y=0.0073x+0.0081, where y is the absorbance and x is the concentration of the pure drug solution. The method was validated for several parameters such as Linearity, Accuracy, Precision and Robustness as per the ICH guidelines. The % recovery value which is close to 100% indicates reproducibility of the method and absence of interference of the excepients present in the formulation. The authors conclude that the proposed spectrophotometric method for the estimation of Lamotrigine can be used for routine analysis of Lamotrigine in bulk as well as in tablet dosage form.

Anemia is one of the common medical conditions in pregnancy. The
World Health Organization (WHO) describes anemia in pregnancy as
hemoglobin levels less than 11.0 g/dl. According to the 2008 report
of  WHO,  1.62  billion  (24.8%)  people  are  affected  globally  from
anemia. This situation is more serious in developing countries where
around 60% of the pregnant women are anemic. Objective of the
study was to determine the prevalence of anemia in pregnancy at the
Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, a tertiary care center. A Hospital
based study was designed, where women delivered at the Liaquat
National  Hospital,  Karachi  between  the  periods June  2012  to  June
2013 were enrolled in this study.
Hemoglobin was assessed for all pregnant women categorized as
anemic on the basis of severity. Data was gathered with regard to
their antenatal progress and factors influencing anemia in pregnancy.
Descriptive statistics was done and the Chi square test was performed
to examine the relationship between outcome variables (anemic/noanemic) and other independent variables. One hundred and twenty
(24%)  pregnant  women  were  found  anemic.  Among  these  seventy
two  were  mild  anemic  (60%),  while  thirty  percent  (36)  were
moderately  anemic  and  remaining  twelve  (10%)  were  severely
anemic. Seventy seven percent was identified to have iron deficiency
anemia. Anemia was significantly related with lower age group (18 -29 years), low income, greater family size, underweight and previous
history of anemia. The study showed that iron deficiency anemia is
the most common cause of anemia in pregnancy and is a chief public
health issue in developing countries.

Hypertension is one of the most common condition seen in general
clinical practice. Hypertension if not treated can lead to many serious
complications such as stroke, myocardial infarction, renal failure and
eventually death. The incidence of resistant hypertension defined as
the inability to achieve target blood pressure despite optimal doses of
3  or  more  antihypertensive  drugs,  including  one  diuretic  is
increasing.  Resistant  hypertension  further  increases  the  risk  of
cardiovascular complications. The diagnosis of resistant hypertension
is  mainly  by  exclusion  criteria.  White  coat  syndrome  and  poor
adherence  to  treatment  should  be  excluded.  Management  involves
multiple  approaches  such  as  lifestyle  interventions  and
pharmacological treatment. Initial pharmacological treatment begins
with optimization of diuretic use. Other first line drugs are calcium
channel  blockers,  angiotensin-converting  enzyme  inhibitors  and
angiotensin-receptor blockers. Combination of other drugs is used as
per  individual  patient  need.  Spironolactone  has  shown  promising
results  in  the  management.  Various  device  therapies  like  chronic
electrical stimulation of the carotid sinus and  Catheter-based
renal sympathetic denervation have been tried in the management of
resistant  hypertension  though  the  success  is  still  eluding.  The
endothelin receptor antagonists and minodoxil are being evaluated in
the management of resistant hypertension.

Objective: The objective of the experiment was to assess efficacy of
herbal  teat  dip,  Mastidip  liquid  (M/S  Ayurvet  Limited,  India) in
reducing  incidence  of  mastitis  in  healthy  animals,  sustenance  of
lactation & in improving milk yield.
Method:  30  apparently  healthy  mastitis  free  lactating  Holstein
freisian cows of same lactation and in early lactation were divided
into  three  groups.  Group  I  served  as  Control  animal  group,  no
treatment group. Group II, was treated with an herbal teat dip post
milking  in  1:1  dilution  twice  daily  and  Group  III,  was  treated  with
herbal teat dip post milking in 1:2 dilution twice daily immediately
after milking.
Result: Statistical analysis of the results showed significantly lower
SCC (x10
3
) in Group III (155.2±43.7) and in Group II (188.26±35) in
comparison  to  untreated  Group I  (348.26±68.28).  None  of  the
animals in group II showed signs of SCM and CM during the study.
The milk yield was significantly improved in Mastidip liquid treated
group.
Conclusion: Herbal teat dip post milking in 1:1 dilution twice daily
immediately after milking for a period of one month was found to be
more efficacious in preventing the incidence of both SCM and CM in
dairy cows.

This study examined the antibacterial, thrombolytic and antioxidant
activity  of  crude  water,  ethanol  and  acetone  extracts  of Camellia
sinensis  (Fam:  Theaceae)  or  green  tea  leaves  in  vitro.  The
pharmacological  history  of  this  plant  inspired  us  to  evaluate  the
possible  antibacterial,  thrombolytic  and  antioxidant  potentials.  A
quick  and  rapid  methodology  (In  vitro  thrombolytic  model)  was
applied  to  find  out  the  clot  lysis  effect  of  aqueous,  ethanol  and
acetone extracts of Camellia sinensis leaves where streptokinase and
water  were  employed  as  a  positive  and  negative  controls,
respectively.  The  percentage  (%)  clot  lysis  was  statistically
significant (p<0.0001) when compared with vehicle control. Using an
in  vitro thrombolytic  model, water,  ethanol  and  acetone  extracts  of
Camellia sinensis leaves showed moderate clot lysis activity (45.60 ±
2.313%, 37.68  ±  2.211%,  and 30.51%  ±  2.551%,  respectively)
whereas standard streptokinase showed 87.15 ± 3.212 % clot lysis
effect and the negative control water revealed 5.60 ± 2.131 % lysis of
clot.  In  the  case  of antibacterial  activities,  the  extracts  of  water,
ethanol  and  acetone  solvents  were  investigated  by  a  simple  agar
diffusion  method  using  ten  pathogenic  bacteria.  Both  aqueous  and
ethanol extracts  showed moderate activity against seven pathogenic
organisms, and acetone extracts showed activity against  eight of the
bacteria tested. All the activities were determined by measuring the
zone  of  inhibition  (in  mm)  compared  with  the  standard  antibiotic
(Amoxicillin).  Finally,  Free  radical  scavenging  activity  was
evaluated in vitro with the spectrophotometric method based on the
reduction of the stable 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) free
radical. The tested extracts showed variable antioxidant activities.
The  high  antioxidant  activity  was  achieved  in  water  (88.32%)
followed by ethanol (78.80%) and acetone (61.96%) extracts. The
extracts  were  investigated  regarding  their  total  flavonoid  content
(TFC)  by  A1C13 reagent.  The  aqueous  extracts  of  green  tea  leaves
(TFC = 78.16 ± 1.90 µg/mg) and ethanol extracts (TFC = 65.99 ± 4.11 µg/mg) had the highest content of flavonoid in comparison to
acetone extracts (TFC = 55.85 ± 1.43 µg/mg). Furthermore, the
total phenolic content of the three extracts of green tea leaves
showed large variations. The water extracts of green tea leaves
contained  the  highest  total  phenol  content  (160.00  ±  0.62  mg
GAE/g extract), followed by  ethanol extracts (123.33 ± 2.32 mg
GAE/g extract) and acetone extracts  (95.37 ± 1.12 mg GAE/g
extract).This  study  suggests  that  leaves  of  green  tea  are  the
possible  sources  of  natural  radical  scavengers.  Thus,  green  tea
leaves could be used as natural antioxidants in the beverage, food
and pharmaceutical industries that need further wide range in vivo
studies.

Background:  Among  marine  organisms,  seaweeds  are  a  highly
diverse group of organisms from which many new substances have
been isolated and many of these compounds have been demonstrated
to possess a large spectrum of bioactivities.
Objective:  In  this  study,  we  aim  to  evaluate  the  antibacterial,
cytotoxic  and  antioxidant  activity  of  green  algae,  Cladophora
prolifera (Roth) Kutzing, collected from the northern Mediterranean
coast of Morocco.
Material and Method: The antibacterial activity was determined by
disk  diffusion  method.  After  fractionation  by  column
chromatography, the fractions from C. prolifera were tested against
Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 using the broth microdilution
assay.  The  antitumor  effect  on  human  colon  cancer  cells  was
investigated  via  sulforhodamine-B  (SRB)  assay.  Then  the  Crude
extract has been tested in radical-scavenging assays to assess their
antioxidant activity.
Results:  In  vitro  screening  of  methanolic  extract  of  C.  prolifera
showed specific activity to inhibit the growth of five virulent strains
of  pathogenic  bacteria,  Escherichia  coli  (ATCC  25922),
Staphylococcus  aureus  (ATCC  25923),  Staphylococcus  aureus
(ATCC 29213), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212) and Klebsiella
pneumoniae (ATCC 700603). The obtained results indicated that the
extracts of C. prolifera were cytotoxic against HT29 human colon
cancer  cells.  In  addition,  based  on  the  capacity  of  the  algae  to
scavenge  the  ABTS  radical  cation,  we  revealed  that C.  prolifera
extract presented a satisfactory antioxidant activity.
Conclusion:  These  results  suggest  that  C.  prolifera  has  a  great
biological  potential,  which  could  be  considered  for  future  uses  in
food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

The  aim  of the  present  work  was  to  investigate  the  antioxidant
potential of different extracts of Barleria prionitis leaf and stem. The
successive  extraction  of  individual  plant  part  was carried  out  using
solvents of different polarity viz. n-hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol
and  water.  The  preliminary  Phytochemical  screening  of  all  the
extracts was done. The present total phenolic contents were estimated
by Folin- Ciocalteu reagent method and expressed as µg/mg of gallic
acid equivalent. The antioxidant potential and reducing power of all
the prepared extracts were measured against DPPH as compared to
standard  ascorbic  acid,  and  BHA  respectively.  The  result  data
indicated  that  the  phenolic  contents  were  higher  in  methanolic
extracts  of  leaf  (103.51±0.38  mg/g)  followed  by  ethyl  acetate
(52.91±0.28 mg/g), aqueous extract (42.02±0.36 mg/g) and n-Hexane
(12.48±0.27  mg/g).  The  similar  pattern  in  stem  part  was  also
observed,  i.e. methanolic  extracts  (94.37±0.18 mg/g),  ethyl  acetate
(44.31±0.45  mg/g),  water  (32.82±0.31  mg/g)  and  n-Hexane
(8.33±0.21 mg/g). The antioxidant capacity of methanolic extract of
both the part, i.e. leaf and stem were founded highest as IC50 values
were 63.41±0.32, 81.69±0.40 respectively. The reducing power was
also  highest  in the  methanol  extract of  both parts.  The  result  data
conclude that the higher antioxidant as well as reducing power may
be due to present phenolic contents.

A new molecule of 2-[3, 4 di hydroxy phenyl] 3, 5, 14-trihydroxy 13-oxo  2H-chromeno [3
1
4
1
:5, 6]  pyrano [2, 3-h]  4H-chromene  4-one
was synthesized and screened. This new compound was synthesized
by  incorporating  4-chloro-3-formyl  coumarin  group  with  quercetin
compound.  In  the  present  study  the  antioxidant  and  antimalarial
activities of new 2-[3, 4 di hydroxy phenyl] 3, 5, 14-trihydroxy 13-oxo  2H-chromeno [3
1
4
1
:5, 6]  pyrano [2, 3-h]  4H-chromene  4-one
molecule was studied. The Antioxidant activity was performed by 1,
1-diphenyl-2-picryl  hydrazyl  free  radical  scavenging  activity,
phosphomolybdenum  method,  reducing  power  method  and
scavenging of nitric oxide methods and the calculated IC50 values for
new  molecule  and  reference  standard  gallic  acid  were  1.77µg/ml,
0.13µg/ml respectively for DPPH method and 1.93µg/ml, 0.28µg/ml
respectively  for  nitric  oxide  method.  The  antimalarial  activity  was
performed by SYBR green I assay and by inhibition of β-hematin
formation. These findings reveal that the new molecule 2-[3, 4 di
hydroxy phenyl] 3, 5, 14-trihydroxy 13-oxo 2H-chromeno [3
1
4
1
:5, 6]
pyrano  [2,  3-h]  4H-chromene  4-one  has  good  antimalarial  and
antioxidant  activities and  could  be  an  alternate  candidate  for  the
development of new biologically active compounds.

Objective: Lung cancer is one of the most common and serious types
of  cancer.  For  this  reason,  novel  therapeutic  approaches  for  its
treatment  are  urgently  needed.  The  aim  of  this  study  was  to
investigate the effect of Salvia officinalis essential oil and its three
main components in human lung cancer A549 and NCI-H226 cells.
Method:  A549  and  NCI-H226  cells  were  treated  with  various
concentrations  of  Salvia  officinalis  essential  oil  and  with  a
combination of two and three of its main constituents (1,8-cineole, α-thujone and camphor), at a dose of 100 and 200 g/ml for 48 and 72
hours.  The  anti-proliferative  activity  was  evaluated  by  the  MTT
assay.
Result:  We  showed  that  the  treatment  with  Salvia  officinalis
essential oil, at a dose of 200 g/ml for 72 hours, caused significant
growth  inhibition  on  both  cell  lines,  compared  with  respective
controls. The same result was obtained from the treatment with the
combination of α-thujone and 1,8-cineole, α-thujone and camphor
and 1,8-cineole and  camphor,  at  a  dose  of  200 g/ml  each  for  72
hours,  and  with  the  association  of  α-thujone,  1,8-cineole  and
camphor at a dose of 100 g/ml each for 48 hours.
Conclusion: Based on these preliminary results, Salvia officinalis
could  represent  an  important  source  of  substances  with  antiproliferative  activity  and  could  improve  the  treatment  of  this
devastating disease.

Aim:  The  radioprotective  effect  of  Panax  ginseng  extract  (PGE)
against  oxidative  stress  and  liver  tissue  injury  induced  by  gamma
radiation was investigated. Also biochemical, oxidative markers and
histological changes were estimated.
Materials and methods: Twenty white albino rats weighing 120-150
g.The animals were assigned into four groups, each group contained
five rats. Group (1): Animals of the first group were kept as control,
group (2): Rats of the second group were given (PGE) (100mg/ kg
b.w), group (3):  was given (PGE) before exposure to γ- radiation
(IRR), group (4): only exposed to γ- radiation (IRR). Blood samples
were  taken  for  measurement  of  asymmetric  dimethylarginine
(ADMA),  lipid  profile,  Alanine-amino-transferase  (ALT)  and
Aspartate-amino-transferase (AST). Tissue samples from livers were
taken for determination of oxidative, nitrosative markers nitric oxide
(NOx),  lipid  peroxidation  end  product  malondialdehyde  (MDA),
reduced glutathione (GSH) level, and superoxide dismutase (SOD)
activity.
Results:  In  the  irradiated  animals,  MDA  and  NOx  levels  were
significantly  increased  in  the  liver,  while  a  marked  decrease  in
hepatic  Contents  of  GSH  as  well  as  the  activity  of  SOD  was
demonstrated.The levels of total cholesterol, TG,  LDL, as well as
activities  of  AST,  ALT,  and  level  of  ADMA,  were  significantly
increased in the sera of the irradiated rats. This was coupled with
decreased serum level of HDL. Preirradiation treatment with PGE
caused  significant  decreases  in  MDA,  NOx  and  produced  a
significant  elevation  of  GSH  content,  SOD  activity  in  the  liver.
Moreover,  a  significant  decrease  in  total  cholesterol,  TG,  LDL
coupled with increased HDL as well as the activity of AST, ALT,
were  significantly  ameliorated  when  PGE  was  injected  before
irradiation but serum ADMA level was non significantly decreased when  compared  to  irradiated  group.  Apart  from  these,
histopathological  changes  also  revealed  the  protective  effect  of
PGE against radiation induced damage of the liver tissues.
Conclusion:  The  increase  in  oxidative  stress  markers  and  the
concomitant  change  in  antioxidant  levels  indicated  the  role  of
oxidative  stress  in  radiation-induced  tissue  damage.  Moreover,
Panax  ginseng  extract  showed  a  radioprotective  impact  against
radiation induced liver damage.

Background:  Western  Assam are  located at  the  extreme  western
part of Assam it extends from 89
0
49
/
20
//
E to 91
0
48
/
16
//
longitude and
25
0
27
/
N to 26
0
54
//
latitude covering the lower Brahmaputra valley.
Western Assam is very unique in its bio resources and is inhibited by
different  Tribes  and  Communities.  The  people  of  this  region  use
various plant items including leaves and tender shoot, flowers of
some species which are often seen to be consumed in different forms
like fried, curry form or even eaten raw. Besides using edible items
these  flowers  are  also  used  sometimes  as  a  medicine  for  curing
various  diseases.  Some  of  these  flowers  are  also  seen  to  be  sold  in
local markets of various parts of Western Assam including Guwahati
city for their high demand. Most of these flowers also eaten all over
North East India by different tribes.
Objectives: The objective of the present study is to document the
plant species used by various communities of Western Assam as an
edible flower. This work is very significant because documenting the
indigenous knowledge through ethno-botanical studies are necessary
for  conservation  of  biological  resources  as  well  as  their  sustainable
utilization.
Method: In  the  study  data was  collected by  field  visit  in  various
remote villages and by visiting the local markets of Western Assam.
The present research work was conducted during the year on January
2012- June  2014.  The  present  study  provides  information  on  their
scientific  name,  family,  vernacular  name,  habit,  biological  status,
time of flowering, mode of preparation, medicinal properties and as
well as market value.
Result and conclusion: A total of 35 species of 31 genera belonging
to 23 families of edible  flowers have been recorded from the study
area. There is enormous potential for the use of such edible flowers
which  bear  specific  medicinal  properties  for  which  there  is
tremendous demand even in global level.

Objective:  The  aim  of  the  study  was  to  assess  the  therapeutic
efficacy  of  Justicia  tranquebariensis  (Thavasu  murungai)  in
bronchial asthma.
Materials and Methods: 40 asthmatics were enrolled for the clinical
trial.  The  patients  were  selected  according  to  the  patient  subjective
assessment scale, objective parameters and WHO GINA guideline.
The  patients  with  severe  diseases  such  as  AIDS,  Malignancy,  TB,
Renal and CVS disorders were excluded from the study. This open
labeled study was conducted at Government Siddha Medical College
Hospital, Chennai-106. All the patients were administered 30 ml leaf
juice of Justicia tranquebariensis for the period of 3 months. Clinical
trial  usually  focuses  on  asthma  control  as  measured  by  pulmonary
function test (FEV1, FVC, PEFR, Breath holding time and FVR),
symptom  scores  and  medication  requirement.  The  study  infers
improvement  on  subjective  and  objective  parameters  of  bronchial
asthma. During the trial period, 4 patients were discontinued from the
study due to need for parenteral and inhalation therapy. 36 patients
were completed the study.
Results:  There  was  a  significant  improvement  in  all  parameters
compared at each follow up visit. Based on the result out of 36 cases
29 had marked response, 5 had moderate response and only 2 cases
had fair response. No side effects have been observed during the
study period.
Conclusion:  Thus  we  concluded  that  Justicia  tranquebariensis
(Thavasu  murungai)  is  effective  for  the  treatment  of  bronchial
asthma.

Objective:  To  study  the  abortifacient  potential  of  the  Siddha
polyherbal formulation Maavilingathy Mathirai in Wistar Albino rats.
Materials and Methods: Male and Female albino rats of Wistar
strain weighing about 120-200 gm in the ratio of 1:2 were caged.
Pregnancy was confirmed and the rats were divided into three groups
of six animals each and the rats were administered the drug through
gastric  gavage  from  6
th
to  15
th
day  of  pregnancy.  The  3  groups  of
animals were administered 2ml/kg of CMC, 100 mg/kg, 200mg/kg of
MLM for 10 days. The animals were laparotomised on 19th day of
pregnancy and the uterine horns were subjected for the examination
of  the  live  and  dead  fetuses,  implantation  sites,  resorptions.  The
serum was separated and let down into a vial and then and subjected
to ELISA method for the assessment for LH, Estradiol, FSH and
Progesterone.
Results and Discussion: The MLM 100 and MLM 200 reduced the
no. of implants in the uterus significantly. The percentage of abortion
calculated revealed that it was 34% at the dose level of 100mg/kg and
69% at the dose of 200mg/kg  and a significant abortifacient effect
indicating  the  reduction  of  the  number  of  viable  fetuses.FSH
hormone level is highly significant (p<0.01) at both the dose levels of
MLM100, 200mg/kg. The results showed significant decrease in LH
at  a  dose  level  0f  100mg/kg  and  highly  significant  decrease  at  the
dose level of MLM200mg/kg. Estradiol hormone is highly significant
(p<0.01)  at  both  the  dose  levels  of  MLM100,  200mg/kg.
Progesterone hormone is also highly significant (p<0.01) at both the
dose levels of MLM100, 200mg/kg. The reduction in the level of
hormones proved to be the prime reason for abortifacient activity.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the immunomodulatory
activity for methanolic extract of Trigonella foenum graecum whole
plant with various models as Drug induced myelosuppression, T- cell
population,  Haemagglutination  titer,  Delayed  hypersensitivity  and
Carbon clearance at different doses as 100 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg and
500  mg/kg  b.w.  In  drug  induced  myelosuppression,  methanolic
extract  of  Trigonella  foenum  graecum  showed  restoration  of
haematological parameters as compared to Azathioprine (negative
control)  treated  group.  In  T-cell  population,  methanolic  extract  of
Trigonella  foenum  graecum  has  shown  significant  increase  in
lymphocytes  and  T-cell  rosettes  formation  when  results  were
compared with standard (Levamisole). At doses 300 mg/kg and 500
mg/kg methanolic extract of Trigonella foenum graecum has shown
significant  potentiation  of  DTH  response  after  24h  challenge.
Methanolic extract of Trigonella foenum graecum, has also showed
significant increase in antibody titer as compared with standard. In
carbon  clearance  test,  the  phagocytic  index  was  significantly
increased for methanolic extract of Trigonella foenum graecum. Thus
methanolic  extract  of Trigonella  foenum  graecum whole  plant  has
showed significant immunostimulatory activity.

The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of using
Lebanese Cymbopogon citratus stems as an alternative adsorbent for
the removal of Pb (II) ions from aqueous solutions. The effect of
different parameters such as the initial metal ion concentration, pH,
adsorbent  dose,  contact  time  and  temperature  were  studied.
Maximum adsorption capacity (93%) of lead (II) ion was obtained at
pH 4 and 25˚C after 1 hour for150 mg/L initial concentration. FT-IR
analysis pointed out the involvement of amine and carboxyl group in
the adsorption process. The adsorption isotherm was better described
by Freundlich rather than Langmuir model. Based on these results, it
can be concluded that the stem of Cymbopogon citratus is effective
as an alternative adsorbent for the removal of toxic Pb (II) from
waste water.

In  the  present  study  four  traditional  Indian  medicinal  plants Orchis
latifolia,  Boswellia  serrata,  Boerhavia  diffusa and  Centratherum
anthelminticum were investigated for their antioxidant potential and
their  protective  effect  in  preventing  haemolysis  and  lipid
peroxidation  in  human  red  blood  cells.  In  this  study  methanolic
(MeOH) extracts of these four plants were partitioned with various
solvents of different to obtain fractions. The fractions first subjected
to phytochemical analysis followed by evaluation of their antioxidant
potential  by  measuring  the  total  phenolic  content,  total  flavonoid
content, 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging potential
and Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) potential. After this
the  selected  fractions  were  tested  in  vitro  to  determine  their
protective  effect  against  H2O2  induced  haemolysis  and  lipid
peroxidation  in  human  RBCs.  The  study  demonstrated  a  strong
antioxidant  potential  of  the  ethyl  acetate  fraction  of  C.
anthelminticum and O. latifolia as evident from high phenolic and
flavonoid content and strong free radical scavenging activity. Further,
the results also show a strong relation between the total phenolics and
flavonoid content and antioxidant activity as demonstrated by the
selected  plant  fractions.  The  fractions  also  protected  membrane
integrity  resulting  in  a  reduction  of  RBC  haemolysis  and  lipid
peroxidation during artificially induced oxidative stress. The  results
also  provide  scientific  evidence  to  support  the  folk  medicinal
utilization of these plants for the treatment of various ailments and
may offer new possibilities in the therapy of pathological conditions
related to generation of free radicals.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the toxicological and
biochemical effects of  administration of ethanolic fruit extract of
Adenopus breviflorus (EEAB) on some liver and kidney parameters
of albino rats. Phytochemical screening was carried out on the fruit of
A. breviflorus sample. The effect of the extract on the histology of the
liver tissues was also investigated. Thirty (30) male albino rats were
randomly divided into 5 groups (n=6) rats each. Group 1 served as
the control and was administered 2mL distilled water. The remaining
groups  received  500,  1000,  2000  and  4000  mg/kg/  b.w.t/day  of
EEAB  respectively  orally  over  a  period  of  56  days.  The  animals
were sacrificed twenty four hours after administration on the fifty
sixth day. Liver and blood samples were collected and biochemical
indices  such  as  alanine  transaminase-ALT,  aspartate  transaminaseAST, alkaline phosphatase-ALP, urea, creatinine, total bilirubin, total
protein, albumin and globulin assays were determined in the serum
using standard techniques. Data were subjected to one-way ANOVA
and the level of significance was at P=0.05. The extract significantly
increased  (P=0.05)  the  serum  levels  of  urea,  creatinine,  and  total
bilirubin in all the treatment groups when compared to the control in
dose-dependent manner except in animals administered 500mg/kg/
b.w.t of EEAB. Similar results were observed for serum activity of
ALP, ALT, and AST. However, a significant decreased was observed
in the serum level of albumin, globulin, and total protein in all treated
groups except in group 2 animals. Phytochemical studies revealed the
presence  of  saponins  (triterpenoids).  The  LD50  of  the  ethanolic extract was determined to be above 5000mg/kg BW. Routine H
and E histological study revealed features of hepatotoxicity. The
study suggests that ethanolic extract of A. breviflorus predisposes
the animals to adverse effects and it was therefore concluded that
the  extract  could  be safe  at  the  tested  dosage  of  500mg/kg  body
weight but hepatotoxic at higher doses.

Objective: To  screen  the  bioactive  compound  of Bixa  orellana L.
seed extract and evaluating the antioxidant potential, reducing power,
DNA protection ability and anti-proliferative activity against Hep3B
cancer cell line. Methods: Bixa orellana L. seed extracts of different
solvents i.e. petroleum ether (PE), chloroform (CE), acetone (AE),
methanol (ME) and water (WE) extract were screened for the phytobioactive compounds. Rapid free radical antioxidant screening and
hydroxyl  radical  scavenging  assay  were  done  by  DPPH  Dot  blot
method and by using safranin respectively. Reducing power assay
was done by ferric chloride method. DNA damage protective ability
was evaluated by Fenton reagent method and anti-proliferative ability
against  Hep3B  cells  were  carried  out  by  MTT  (Thiazolyl  blue
tetrazolium  bromide)  assay. Results:  The  screening  of  bioactive
compound  shows  the  presence  of  alkaloids,  saponins,  flavonoids,
phytosterols,  diterpenes,  carotenoids,  tannins  and  phenolic
compounds. All extracts scavenged the DPPH free radicals indicated
by discoloration of purple color background to yellow-white spot. All
extract  showed  the  reducing  power  ability  in  a  dose  dependent
manner by reducing the ferric chloride. Hydroxyl radical scavenging
and DNA protection ability was maximum for PE extract.PE extract
shows the anti-proliferative activity against Hep3B cell line and IC50
values were found to be 78.11 µg/ml and 70.86µg/ml for 24 and 48h
respectively. Conclusions: These  results  suggest  that Bixa  orellana
seeds have a good antioxidant potential, DNA protective ability and
anti-proliferative effect. Further studies  are necessary  for detailed
chemical characterization and better understanding of their biological
activities of the most active ingredients.

Use of the members of the genus Allium L. in Northeast India is quite
significant  from  the  perspective  of  ethnopharmacology.  The
pharmacological aspect of the genus Allium L. have been clinically
evaluated  since  long  due  to  its  typical  flavour  and  ethnomedicinal
importance. The plants posses a number of chemical constituents like
sulphur,  allicin  etc.  that  are  responsible  for  certain  biological
activities  of  pharmacological  importance  including  anticancer
activity.  Several  species  of  Allium  L.    have  been  reported  from
northeast  India  having  ethnobotanical  uses  and  are  very  popular
among  the  ethnic  groups  either  as  spice/vegetables  or  in  folk
medicine. Considering the importance of the plants in this region a
thorough  review  of  literature  was  undertaken  to  prepare  a
consolidated account of ethnobotany and pharmacological activities
of the species occurring in northeast India

Tumour  markers  are  biochemical  indicators  of  the  presence  of  a
tumour, which are selectively produced by the neoplastic tissue and
released into blood or in other body fluids. They are widely accepted
and applied to the management of patients with cancer since the
introduction  of  diagnostic  immunopathology.  Tumour  markers
include  oncofetal  antigens  (AFP),  glycoproteins  (CEA),  placental
proteins  (PLAP),  hormones  (ACTH  and  HCG),  enzymes  (PSA  and
PAP) and other molecular species. Monoclonal antibody technique is
the most commonly used method for identification of specific marker
in  tissue,  urine  or  blood  sample.  Assay  of  various  tumour  markers
can be used for population screening, tumour detection, diagnosis,
staging, prognosis, or follow up of malignant diseases.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a broad spectrum anthracycline antibiotic used
to treat multiple cancers. The use of DOX is limited by significant
cardiotoxicity,  hepatotoxicity  and  nephrotoxicity.  Quercetin  is  a
dietary-flavonoid found in plants which prevents oxidant injury and
protects against lipid peroxidation. The objective of the present study
was to assess the possible protective role of quercetin on doxorubicin
induced  hepatic,  cardiac  and  renal  toxicity  in  male  Wistar  rats.
Doxorubicin  (10mg/kg  body  weight)  was  administered  twice  and
quercetin  (100mg/kg  body  weight)  was  administered  on  all  the  21
days of the experimental period. Body weight, heart weight, creatine
kinase in serum and heart, the activities of the antioxidant enzymes in
liver,  heart  and  kidney  were  decreased  in doxorubicin  administered
rats. Liver and kidney weight, liver marker enzymes in serum, liver
and  kidney,  lactate  dehyrogenase  in  serum,  liver,  heart  and  kidney,
urea and creatinine in serum, lipid peroxide content in liver, heart and
kidney were increased. All the biochemical parameters mentioned
above  were  restored  to  near  normal  levels  on  quercetin
administration with doxorubicin. Administration of doxorubicin in
rats  altered  the  biochemical  parameters  but,  did  not  cause  much
effect on the tissues such as liver, heart and kidney which is evident
with histological studies.

Brain is one of the most complex organs of the body and thus the
challenge in neuroscience would seem the effort of understanding the
complex structure, function, and development of the nervous system
in healthy as well as diseased condition. Such understanding requires
the integration of huge amounts of heterogeneous and complex data
collected  at  various  levels  of  investigation.  Neuroinformatics
combines  neuroscience  with  information  science/technology  and
deals with the creation and maintenance of web accessible databases
that will be required to achieve such integration. There is significant
interest  amongst  neuroscientists  in  sharing  neuroscience  data  and
analytical  tools  which  provides  the  opportunity  to  differently  reanalyze  previously  collected  data  and  encourage  new  neuroscience
interpretations  that  facilitates  further  development.  However,
information  is  usually  stored  in  various  databases,  managed  by
heterogeneous database management systems or files, spreadsheets
etc.  which  results  into  inaccuracy  and  inconsistencies  in  data
acquisition  and  processing,  lack  of  coordination  resulting  in
duplication  of  efforts  and  of  resources.  Thus  an  integration  of
databases is a vital solution to these problems. This article, analyses
various  databases  in  the  field  of  neuroscience  along  with  the
importance of integration of databases.

Objective: The objectives of the current study were to isolated and
identified UTIs causative agents. To identify the frequency of ESBL
producing microorganisms. These findings will help to manage UTIs
infections in Pakistani population.
Methods: A total of 1050 outdoor patient’s samples were collected
by  the  mid-stram  methods.  The  samples  were  tested
microbiologically  by  using  standard  procedure.  Antibiotic
susceptibility of the isolated pathogens was tested for commonlyused  antibiotics  by  Kirby-Bauer  technique  according  to  NCCLS
guidelines.
Results:  Out  of  these  225  (21%,  p  <  0.05)  samples  were  found
positive  for  urinary  tract  infection  (UTI).  Prevalnace  was  higher  in
female 126 (56%, p < 0.05) then male 99 (44%, p ≤0.01) with age
group of 41- 50 years. Among total 199 gram negative isolates 121
(61%) were ESBL positive E Coli 68 (56%) was common followed
by Pseudomonas aerogenosa 22 (18%), Klebsiella sp. 21 (17%) and
Proteus sp. 10 (8%). Antibiotic susceptibilities of ESBL producing
isolates  were  resistant  to  Levofloxacin  97  (80%),  Tobramycin  72
(60%)  and  pipemidic  acid  73  (60.3%)  as  compared  to  ESBL  nonproducing isolates.
Conclusion: Overall prevalence of  UTI observed in our study is
21%. E. coli was most prevalent than other organism, most common
in female than male age group of 41- 50. ESBL positive were highly
resistant  to  antibiotics  as  compared  to  Non-ESBL.  This  high
prevalence  of  resistant  ESBL  posing  a  major  clinical  crisis  of
treatment  failure  with  β-lactam  antimicrobials.  ESBL  detection  and
their antibiotic susceptibility checking should be included in every
pathological  laboratory  to  restrict  the  over  and  misuse  of  the antibiotics and to improve the treatment and management of UTI.

Maesa indica belonging to family Myrsinaceae, commonly known as
Atki  is  a  large  shrub.  Ethnobotanical  studies  of  Kolhapur  district
revealed that stem bark of M.  indica is used in the treatment a
diabetes. The literature survey revealed that there is no experimental
evidence of antidiabetic effect of the plant. Therefore the present
study was carried out to investigate antidiabetic effect of M.  indica
stem  bark  in  streptozotocin  induced  diabetic  rats.  The  Plant  was
subjected to pharmacognostic, physico-chemical and phytochemical
evaluations  which  will  assist  in  standardization  for  authenticity,
quality  and  identification  of  the  herbal  products.  Treatment  with
2ml/kg stem bark distillate to diabetic rats resulted in significant
reduction  in  blood  glucose  level.  The  preset  study  clearly
demonstrated that the plant is having potential hypoglycemic activity
which  may  be  beneficial  for  the  management  and  treatment  of
diabetes mellitus. It also shows good alpha glucosidase inhibition
activity.

Background: Antibacterial activity of several herbal plants has been
reported in present time. In the present communication, antibacterial
activity  of  Cedrus  deodara  Linn.  and  Hemidesmus  indicus  Linn.
plants  have  been  reported  that  may  be an  alternative  source  to
develop an alternative treatment of bacterial infection.
Objective: The  plant  species  namely Cedrus  deodara Linn. (Fam.
Pinaceae) and Hemidesmus indicus Linn. (Fam. Apocynaceae) used
in urinary disorders in India were tested for their antibacterial activity
against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
Material  and  Method:  Soxhlet  extraction  of  medicinal  plants
Cedrus  deodara  Linn.  and  Hemidesmus  indicus Linn.  were
performed at 65
0
C with ethanol, chloroform and water. The extracted
materials was then kept in water bath to evaporate solvent totally and
then kept on a rotary shaker at 190-220 rpm for 6 h to make the final
volume one fourth of the original volume and stored at 4
0
C in airtight
bottles. Then, antibacterial activity was determined by disk diffusion
method.
Results: No inhibitions were observed with ethanol and chloroform
extracts of both Cedrus deodara and Hemidesmus indicus samples.
Conclusion:  The  potential  active  compound  of Cedrus  deodara
Linn.  and  Hemidesmus  indicus  Linn.  C.  is  suggested  for  further
phytochemical analysis and other biological properties.

This study was carried out to detect the distribution of antibioticresistant  genes  in  multi-antibiotic  resistant  bacteria  isolated  from
Saudi  Arabian  patients  in  Taif  city.  Hence,  simple  methods  were
followed herein to isolate and characterize the antibiotic resistant
bacteria by the common phenotypic, morphological, biochemical and
molecular  characters.  Out  of  200  cultures  tested,  60  multidrug
resistant  bacteria  isolates  were  randomly  chosen  for  isolating  the
antibiotic  resistance  genes.  About  47%  of  antibiotic  resistant  tested
bacteria were isolated from urine samples and 53% from stool. The
study  further  aimed  to  analyze  antibiotic  resistance  rates  against
commonly used antibiotics among bacterial population of urine and
stool  samples.  These  bacterial  isolates  were  identified  and
categorized  into  eight  species, Escherichia  coli,  Staphylococcus
aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Citrobacter
freundi, Enterobactur sakazakii, Salmonella sp. and Shigella sp. The
isolates  exhibited  resistance  in  decreasing  order  for  Clindamycin
(83%),  Penicillin  G  (69.6  %),  Rifampin  (64.7%),  Cefotaxime
(53.6%),  Cefaclor  (51.7%),  Ceftriaxone  (47.2%),  Nitrofurantoin
(44.2%), and Norfloxacin (39.7%). Maximum resistance to extendedspectrum β-lactam antibiotics occurred in 11.3% of isolates and the
production of extended spectrum β-lactamase was achieved by 3.5%
of isolates. Multiple resistances to three or more antimicrobial agents
were  documented.  PCR  method  was  used  to  isolate  the  antibiotic
resistance genes for analyzing the molecular classification of these
isolates. It was based on CTX-M1, CTX-M2 and mecA genes which
were used for rapid assignment of bacteria into genera  and species. The  results  indicate  that  all  isolates  harbor  one  or  more  of
antibiotic resistance genes and that the PCR technique is a fast,
practical and appropriate method for determining the presence of
antibiotic-resistance  genes.  Moreover,  the  similarity  matrix  and
differentiation  between  these  isolates  was  studied  dependent  on
RAPD pattern using 8 different primers.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide and oxidative
stress  is  one  of  the  factors  responsible  for  causing  cancer.
Antioxidants  play  a  very  important  role  in  prevention  of  cancer.
Therefore,  efforts  have  been  made  to  identify  natural  antioxidants
having  anti-cancer  potential.  Various  herbs,  fruits and  vegetables
have diverse phytochemicals that display antioxidant properties and
help  in  reducing  the  risk  of  cancer.  Wheatgrass  has a  potent
antioxidant efficacy and has been used as a health drink to cure many
diseases in folk medicine. In the present study, anumber of solvent
extracts  of  wheatgrass  was  tested  for  their  antioxidant  ability.  The
most  effective  solvent  extract  was  further  evaluated  for  cytotoxic
effect in Hep2 cell lines and apoptotic induction was demonstrated by
propidium iodide (PI) fluorescent staining. The bioactive constituents
were  analysed  by  GC-MS.  Methanol  extract  (ME)  showed  the
highest  quantity  of  phenols  and  flavonoids.  PI  staining  showed
apoptotic  features  like  nuclear  fragmentation  and  chromatin
condensation  and  GC-MS  analysis  showed  the  presence of  nine
bioactive phytoconstituents in methanol extract. Hence we conclude
that  wheatgrass  has  good  antioxidant  and  cytotoxic  property  and
being  a  natural  product,  could  be  a  good  candidate  for  cancer
prevention and treatment.

The present work discusses new and simple preparative TLC method
for isolation of quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucoside from aqueous extract of
leaves of  Azadirachta indica. The purity of isolated quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucoside  was  98.23  %.  Structure  of  isolated  quercetin-3-O-β-Dglucoside was established by various spectral techniques such as IR,
NMR  and  mass  spectroscopy.  Isolated  quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucoside
can be used as marker compound for marker-based standardization of
extracts and formulations containing Azadirachta indicaleaves.

Gymnema  sylvestre  (Asclepiadaceae) is  a  good  source  of  large
number  of  bioactive  substances.  It  has  deep  roots  in  history,  being
one  of  the  major  botanicals  used  in  traditional  medicine  to  treat
conditions ranging from diabetes, malaria, to snakebites. This study
was conducted to quantitatively evaluate anti-haemolytic activity of
aqueous  extract  of  stem,  leaf  and  flower  parts  of  this  plant,  against
hydrogen  peroxide  induced  haemolysis  using  human  erythrocyte  in
an in vitro  assay. Prior to the addition of H
2O2
to induce haemolysis,
different concentrations (50-500 mg/ml) of the extract was added to
2ml  of  4%  erythrocyte  suspension  and  allowed  to  incubate  for  5
minutes  at  room  temperature.  The  mixture  was  centrifuged  and  the
colour  density  of  the  supernatant  was  measured
spectrophotometrically.  Quercetin  was  used  as  standard.  The
percentage haemolysis and IC
50
values were calculated. The extracts
were  potent  against  haemolysis  of  the  erythrocyte  in  concentration
dependent  manner.  The  leaf  extract  exhibited  the  highest  antihaemolytic  effect  with  IC
50 =  29.83  mg/ml  followed  by  the  flower
with IC50= 34.96 mg/ml and the least was the stem with IC50
= 37.75
mg/ml. the IC50
value of Quercetin was 386.72 mg/ml. The lower the
IC
50
the more protection offered against haemolysis by  the extracts.
These results suggest that the plant extracts are better anti-haemolytic
agents  and  offered  significant  biological  action  compared  with
standard compound used.

Infectious  diseases  continue  to  be  an  important  public  health
problem.  Among  them,  candidiasis  an  opportunist  fungal  infection
especially in patients living with HIV / AIDS is onthe increase. Our
research team tested different plant extracts (butanolic, hexane, ethyl
acetate, chloroform) of  crude  extract hydro-ethanolic obtained from
Eucalyptus spon the in vitrogrowth of Candida tropicalis.
Among the 10 extracts tested, X1.2
has the highest inhibitory activity
(MFC = 125 µg/mL; IC50
= 09.91 µg/mL). The method of preparation
of  the  extract  (X
1.2
)  by  partitioning  of  hydro-ethanolic  extract  in
different  solvent  mixtures  is  the  best  way  to  obtain  the  best  active
principle concentration.

A  survey  was  conducted  to  determine  the  prevalence  of
gastrointestinal  parasitism  in  crossbred  and  local  cattle,  Sylhet
division,  Bangladesh.  Fecal  samples  were  collected  randomly  from
288  local  and  144  crossbred  cattle  of  four  representative  areas  in
three following seasons. The effects of season and  age were tested in
both  local  and  crossbred  cattle.  Frequency  of  trematodes  and
nematodes infections was constant in all the surveyareas. Incident of
gastrointestinal parasitic infections was more frequent in rainy season
followed  by  summer  and  winter.  Significantly  higher prevalence  of
Paramphistomum spp  (20.53%)  was  found  in  rainy  season  whereas
Haemonchusspp (5.46%) and  Moniezia  spp (4.18%) were higher in
summer  (P<0.05).  Paramphistomum spp  infections  were  more
recurrent in adult while  Toxocaraspp were largest in calf (P<0.05).
Prevalence of  Haemonchus  spp (4.56%) infections was significantly
higher  in  local  adult  cattle  where  as  Trichostrongylus  spp  (4.41%)
infections  were  largest  in  local  young  cattle  (P<0.05).  It  could  be
stated  that  season,  age  were  the  significant  forecaster  of
gastrointestinal parasitism. It is highest during rainy season followed
by cool, cold and hot season.

Objective:The objective of the present study was to investigate the
insulin sensitizing effect of  Scoparia dulcis(L) leave extract (SDE)
against free fatty acid (FFA) induced insulin resistance in an  in vitro
L6 myotubes.
Materials  and  Methods: The  rat  L6  skeletal  muscle  cells  were
differentiated to myotubes by treating it with DMEMcontaining 2%
horse  serum  for  12h.  For  generating  an  in  vitro cellular  model  of
insulin  resistant  condition,  L6  myotubes  were  treated  with  FFA
(palmitate) for 4h. Insulin resistant L6 myotubes were either pre- or
post treated for 1h with SDE and its insulin sensitivity activity was
assessed  by  measuring  cellular  glucose  uptake  and  the  activation
status of insulin signalling pathway molecules.
Results: SDE  significantly  stimulated  glucose  uptake  in  L6
myotubes  in  a  dose-dependent  manner  with  maximal  effect  at
50µg/ml. To investigate the underlying mechanism ofeffect SDE, we
examined  the  expression  and  activity  of  insulin  signalling  pathway
molecules.  We  found  that  the  SDE  treatment  notably  increased
insulin  signalling  pathway  by  inducing  activatory  phosphorylation
status  of  IRS-1  and  Akt  without  altering  expression levels  of  these
proteins. The comparative analysis revealed that SDE is more potent
than known insulin sensitizer, pioglitazone.
Conclusion:These results suggest that induction of insulin signalling
pathway and increased glucose uptake activity of SDE will aid in the
treatment of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Future studies on
the isolation of bioactive components and a detailed investigation in
the animal model of insulin resistance may be promising to find out a
novel type 2 diabetes drug.

A  pilot  study  was  conducted  to  study  the  phytochemical  and  antiinflammatory  activities  of  methanol  extract  of  leaves  of Basella
rubra. Phytochemical  studies  were  carried  out  to  determine  the  bio
active  constituents  present  in  the  methanol  extract of  B.  rubra.
Oxazolone  induced  inflammation  model  was  used  to  evaluate  the
methanolic  extract  of  B.  rubra  for  its  anti-inflammatory  activity.
Treatment of animals with methanol extract of leaves of  B. rubraat
dose  level  of  500mg/kg  b.w.  was  performed  and  found to  possess
marked activity of cure of inflammation induced by Oxazolone. The
changes  in  body  weight,  colon  structure,  histopathological  changes
and inflammation score were examined between control and treated
groups.  Rats  treated  with  only  Oxazolone  showed  changes  in
hematoxylin and eosin sections with wide areas of mucosal necrosis
with  elongated  irregularly  branched  glands  including  loss  of
differentiation  (goblet  cells).  Treatment  with  methanol  extract  of
leaves of  B. rubrasignificantly recovered in the colon inflammation.
The results of our study suggest that methanolic extract of leaves of
B.  rubra has  beneficial  effects  on  the  experimental  induced
inflammation.  This  reveals  that  Basella  rubra could  be  serves  as  a
potential anti -inflammatory and chemotherapeutic drug.

The  inhibition  of  in-vitro calcium-oxalate  crystal  formation  by
Phyllanthus  niruri  L. extract  was  investigated  by  different  methods
i.e.  nucleation  assay  and  synthetic  urine  assay.  In nucleation  assay,
the aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of different concentrations
of  the  extract  on  calcium  oxalate  crystallization  in  vitro while  in
synthetic  urine  method  the  percentage  inhibition  and  growth  of  the
calcium  oxalate  monohydrate  crystals  from  synthetic urine  at
different  %  concentrations  of  extract  was  investigated.  Results
revealed  that  in  both  the  assay  %  inhibition  for  calcium  oxalate
crystal  formation  was  found  to  be  directly  proportional  to  the
increase  in  concentration  of  the  plant  extract  with maximum
inhibition of 61.97% ± 0.78 at 1000mg/ml in nucleation assay, while
in synthetic urine assay  maximum inhibition was 58.62 ± 0.02 %at
100%  concentration  of  extract.  Thus,  the  extract  showed  potent
antilithic ability in both the assays studied.

Stem  cells  are  unspecialized  cells  that  develop  into  the  specialized
cells  that  make  up  the  different  types  of  tissue  in the  human
body.They  are  characterized  by  the  ability  to  renew themselves
through mitotic cell division and differentiating into a diverse range
of specialized cell types. They are vital to the development, growth,
maintenance, and repair of our brains, bones, muscles, nerves, blood,
skin,  and  other  organs  .Stem  cells  are  found  in  all of  us,  from  the
early  stages  of  human  development  to  the  end  of  life.  Stem  cell
research  holds  tremendous  promise  for  the  development  of  novel
therapies  for  many  serious  diseases  and  injuries.  While  stem  cellbased treatments have been established as a clinical standard of care
for some conditions, such as hematopoietic stem cell transplants for
leukemia  and  epithelial  stem  cell-based  treatments  for  burns  and
corneal disorders, the scope of potential stem cell-based therapies has
expanded in recent years due to advances in stem cell research. It has
been  only  recently  that  scientists  have  understood  stem  cells  well
enough to consider the possibilities of growing them outside the body
for long periods of time. With that advance, rigorous experiments can
be conducted, and the possibility of manipulating these cells in such a
way that specific tissues can be grown is real.

Dillenia  pentagyna Roxb.  is  a  medium  sized  tree  belonging  to  the
family Dilleniaceae. It is commonly known as Kaihzawl in Mizoram.
Traditionally,  a  decoction  prepared  by  boiling  the  bark  of  Dillenia
pentagyna Roxb.  is  used  for  various  stomach  ailments  and
inflammatory  diseases.  Preliminary  phytochemical  screening  and
evaluation  of  in-vitro  antioxidant  activity  were  carried  on  the
methanolic  extract  obtained  from  the  bark  of Dillenia  pentagyna
Roxb.  The  presence  of  flavanoids,  triterpenoids,  tannins,  alkaloids,
glycosides,  steroids  and  carbohydrates  was  indicated  by  the  tests
conducted.  The  in-vitro  antioxidant  activity  was  evaluated  using
DPPH radical scavenging activity, Reducing power, Hydroxyl radical
scavenging  activity  and  determination  of  total  phenolic  and
flavanoids  content.  Ascorbic  acid,  BHA,  Gallic  acid and  Quercetin
were used as reference standards. The methanolic extract of the plant
shows strong antioxidant activity camparable to that of the reference
standards.

The  present  study  was  carried  out  to  evaluate  the  hypoglycemic
activity and antihyper glycemic activity of aqueousextracts of whole
plant  of  Gymnema  sylvestre in  normal  and  in  alloxan  induced
diabetic rats. The aqueous extract of  Gymnema sylvestre(30mg/Kg,
100mg/Kg, 300mg/Kg b.w.) and the dose (100mg/Kg) that produced
an optimal reduction (30-40%) of blood glucose was  selected for the
study. Blood samples were collected at desired intervals of time and
analyzed for blood glucose by the GOD - POD method.Gliclazide a
second generation sulfonyl urea was selected for the interaction study
with  that  of  the  Gymnema  sylvestre.  The  doses  of  Gliclazide
(1mg/Kg,  2mg/Kg  and  4mg/Kg  b.w.)  were  given  to  normal  and
diabetic  rats  and  the  dose  (2mg/Kg  b.w.)  that  produced  an  optimal
reduction  of  blood  glucose  was  selected  for  the  study.  The  prior
administration  of  Gymnema  sylvestre significantly  increased  the
hypoglycemic and antihyperglycemic activity of Gliclazide.